Systemic sarcoidosis during interferon-alpha therapy for chronic hepatitis C virus infection

A 62-year-old white woman with chronic hepatitis C virus infection was diagnosed with systemic sarcoidosis during treatment with interferon-alpha. Seventeen cases of sarcoidosis associated with interferon treatment have been reported, with only 8 inpatients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection. Our patient, with no past history of sarcoidosis, developed subcutaneous sarcoid nodules, arthritis, uveitis, pneumonitis and heart involvement two months after she was started on treatment with interferon-alpha. Her symptoms resolved when she began corticosteroid therapy and interferon-alpha was stopped. This case report suggests that exogenous interferon-alpha may trigger or contribute to the development of this multisystem granulomatous disorder in which interferon-gamma and CD4 + T-lymphocyte are mainly involved. Patients should be monitored during and following interferon-alpha therapy, since the autoimmune diseases induced by interferon therapy do not always improve after cessation of treatment.